Read the text to fulfil the tasks. An important additional function of the magistrates' courts is to hear cases involving young people under 18 (who are collectively called 'juveniles')

An important additional function of the magistrates' courts is to hear cases involving young people under 18 (who are collectively called 'juveniles'). The age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales is ten, except in Scotland where it is eight.

Britain has a serious problem with young offenders. The peak age for committing crime is 15: one in four criminal offences are committed by teenager under 16.

Special juvenile courts comprise experienced magistrates and must include at least one member of either sex. Proceedings are held in private, media reports must not identify a young person concerned in the proceedings, whether a defendant, victim or witness. There is a wide range of penalties for young people who are found guilty, ranging from fines and compensations for those under 17 (where their parents or guardians may be ordered to pay) to confinement for those aged 15 and over in a young offenders' institution.

The Crime and Disorders Act 1998 has established a number of new orders to prevent offending and re-offending by young people. New orders include:

• a reparation order,which will require young offenders to make non-financial reparation to the victim(s) of their offence or to the community which they have harmed; and

• an action plan order,which will require them to comply with an individually tailored action plan intended to address their offending behaviour. These new orders, together with the final warning scheme, are being piloted in certain areas for 18 months from the end of 1998;

• a detention and training order,which will combine custody and community supervision; this was implemented in mid-1999.

The new criminal orders will be complemented by a range of other powers. These include parenting orders,which will require a parent to attend counselling and guidance sessions and to comply with specified requirements; and child safety orders, which place a child under 10 who is at risk of becoming involved in crime or his behaving in anti-social manner under the supervision of a specified, responsible officer.